NAAHP Blog

What is your occupation and academic background and how did you come to work in this field?

I am an undergraduate student at Harvard University. My major is Social Studies, and my focus field is in development studies. In high school, I was very involved with my school’s Model United Nations club and attended many conferences during my sophomore and junior years, and from those experiences, I became more interested in questions of ‘development,’ particularly the ideologies and histories that influenced current ‘development’ practices. My interest is also personal – as someone who grew up in a large Haitian diaspora community in New York, I wanted to learn more about the ways my family’s experiences intersected with larger political events.

Aside from schoolwork, I am involved in two student organizations. I serve as President of the Harvard Haitian Alliance and Professional Development Coordinator for the National Haitian Student Alliance.

What is the biggest challenge of your work?

Right now, one of the biggest challenges is collaborating with other students to develop self-sustaining organizations that are not dependent on specific individuals and are able to survive changes in leadership. As far as school is concerned, it’s definitely hard to balance my interests in public service and student activities with a full courseload. Also, Harvard does not have many professors with expertise in the Caribbean – especially not Francophone Caribbean – which means that I have to do a lot of work on top of my regular assignments to familiarize myself with theories and case studies from the region.

Identify one or two of your proudest achievements?

I am working on many projects and hope to have more concrete achievements in a few years.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

In ten years, I hope to work for immigrant and youth rights.  Given that I also have many academic interests, I would like to simultaneously develop conceptual frameworks for service and restorative justice.

What would be your advice to young people who want their careers and lives to have impact?

Relationships and mentorship are crucial to laying the foundation for future successes. Take time to establish strong bonds with mentors who can provide you with guidance on future career plans and honest feedback on your work.  It’s okay to have multiple mentors – not all of them have to be working in the field you are interested in. There’s no need to rebuild the wheel as you enter into a particular field – chances are someone has done it already. Learn from other people’s mistakes.

As for having a career with impact, I’m not quite there yet – perhaps I’ll have more to share in future years.